Dog Days

Chapter 31

The next morning, I step out of the tent with a smile on my face. Loki woke me with a cup of tea. He's finishing up some paperwork at the moment.

He said he would join my at sniper practice later.

As I walk into my cadets tent, I find all of the in attention. I call out "At ease, soldiers."

As they fall out, I find they look upset "What is happening here?"

Fandral looks towards me and asks "Is she gone?"

I furrow my brow and state "She is."

Volstagg furrows his brow and asks "Did she really kill Jones? And Manning, and Dupree?"

I give a short nod, before declaring "First Sergeant Laufeyson was here to smoke her out. Now that she's gone, he'll be gone shortly."

Fandral and Volstagg share a look, before I continue "We're supposed to be up at the sniper range. I think we'll stay local, for today. Today, we can practice filtering water, identifying edible plants and bugs. It could be life or death out here."

I give a short nod, before stepping out of the tent and walking away from the tension of the situation.

~

After a few hours of sitting around the camp staring at plant ID books, I see Loki walk by in a hurry. He stops and steps up to me "What the hell are you doing here?"

I give him a confused look as I realized how startled he is "We're IDing plants. What's wrong?"

He points a finger at the ground and hisses "You are not supposed to be here! You are supposed to be 2 kilometers away, at the sniper pit! Get on the road, now!"

I furrow my brow and ask "Why do you care?"

He looks around in horror for a moment, before he states "You need to run, now. This whole place is about to be a powder keg."

I give him a confused look and he lowers his voice as he looks me in the eyes "We do not have time for me to hold your hand through this. This place is about to burn, and I need you to get as far away as possible. We have less than a minute. I need you to run."

I take a moment to look him in the eyes "Come home to me, do you understand?"

He gives me a soft smile, before declaring "I love you, Thor."

He turns to run off and I turn to my team to order "Fall out! Get out of camp!"

Before they can even stand, I see a cargo truck explode, and I get knocked on my ass.

I hear Loki scream "Thor!"

And as I catch myself, I feel a burning sensation creeping into my right eye and left shoulder. As I stand, Loki pulls me behind a rock as everyone runs for cover.

He looks over my face and asks "Can you feel that?" He asks as he holds pressure to my shoulder.

I look at him with my one good eye and ask "Is it gone? The eye?"

He looks at me in concern and sighs "I watched it bounce in the sand. It's gone."

I nod at him and he looks over the rock "I need you to stay here and wait for this to be over."

He rests his hand on my cheek and smiles "I need you to get home, safe."

I give him a confused look "I need to protect you."

He gives me a tired smile "I don't need your protection, Thor. I need you to stay safe."

He gives me a soft kiss, before declaring "I'll be back for you."

And then he runs off.

And I sit there as gun shots ring out. I hear one scream out about "The Variant" and then my memory begins to fuzz out. I can't remember anything after that.

~

I know where I am before I even open my eye. I hear the routine beeping of a heart monitor, and I know, based of the crisp sheets, I'm not in Jordan anymore.

When I open my one eye, I see the inside of my hospital room. It's all white, with a massive window that faces out into the street. The license plates on the cars driving by tells me I'm somewhere in Europe.

My arm is in a sling, and I can feel the tightness in my shoulder. And, as I look around, I find a letter on my bedside table.

My name is the only thing written on the envelope, and the post stamps reads from Jordan.

As I open it with my one good hand, it reads "Dear Thor, I'm writing you this letter, knowing that my job is not done here. As Captain, I have to keep going. I regret to inform you that, on Wednesday, November 23rd, Loki Laufeyson was declared MIA following the bombing that left you injured. As you were evacuated to the green zone, we exhausted our efforts of finding him. We will continue searching for First Sergeant Laufeyson, and hope you will find comfort in knowing he saved our camp. Only nine were injured, including yourself. And, as your doctors have said, there is no hope in restoring your eyesight. As of the morning of November 24th, you have fulfilled your contract with the marines, and will be labeled an honorable discharge. Thank you for your service, soldier. Sincerely, Captain Steve Rogers."

I sit there in complete silence for a moment as I begin to process. And as it begins to seep into my brain, I begin to understand.

I will never see his face again.

If he went missing in action, it's best to presume he's dead.

Or he's clinging to life and in pain in a hole somewhere, which is even more painful to believe.

He would die a slow and painful death, meaning I can never set my eyes on those beautiful green eyes that I get lost in.

Got, lost in.

And as the tears pour from my eye, my lungs begin to collapse and my heart pounds in my chest.

I cry out in agony as I clutch my chest.

The pain boils inside of me and I scream out in rage as I try to keep myself from ripping in two.

As I sob out, I know my efforts are lost. I can feel the last of my happiness and joy die and it feels like my soul is breaking.

As a nurse pokes her head in, she asks "Mister Odinson?"

She steps in and I can't stop myself from screaming out in complete agony.

As I clutch my chest, I feel my heart exploding in my chest and cry out to her "I loved him!" I sob out in complete agony as I look at her with my blurred vision "I loved him, and now he's just gone!"

She runs towards me and states "I'm going to up your anxiety and pain medication. I don't want you hurting yourself."

As she pushes the meds, I sob in agony. After she's done, she takes my hand and states "I know you are hurting. I know it's painful."

I sob out and she states "The drugs will sedate you long enough for you to calm down and catch yourself. You've been through a great deal of stress."

She takes my hand and smiles "Let's get you better and ship you home, soldier."

As the drugs hit me, I ask "Where am I?"

She gives me a tired smile "Germany, darling. You've been unconscious for three days. Your eye was a goner, and you had some torn ligaments and muscle in your dislocated shoulder. We got you patched up."

I nod as the drugs really kick in. She furrows her brow "Do you want to contact your family?"

I shake my head, tiredly, before I feel myself slipping into unconsciousness.